Neither Presidential candidate has been very clear or specific about his position on a number of housing and real estate issues.

I am hoping the debates will shed some light on their ideas and solutions regarding our industry. However, I am not too optimistic that any of the topics of interest will make it to their comments. Even though real estate could lead the country out of the economic problems we are in, there are other talking points that will get much more attention.

Recently REALTOR Magazine ran an article highlighting the candidates’ answers to several questions posed by reporter Robert Freedman. It is not clear to me if he was able to talk directly to Obama and Romney, or if the questions were answered in writing by them or their staffs. He addressed six different topics:

Home Ownership Incentives

Lending Standards

Underwriting Mandates

Health Insurance

Environmental Regulations

Infrastructure Needs

Below is the link to the article so you can see the questions, and Romney’s and Obama’s responses.

Frankly, I feel they danced around most of the questions, as politicians do. However, there are some refreshingly frank and pointed answers, too. After the debate, I want to address some more specific answers to these issues directly with you. In addition, we need to discuss a couple of major issues that were not in the article. (Can you say “Mortgage Interest Deduction”???) I would like to hear your comments and thoughts as we approach this very important election on November 6th.